Comic says the press misrepresented him

John Cleese has denied reports that the ‘Loretta’ scene is going to be cut from the stage version of Monty Python’s Life Of Brian for fear it’s transphobic.

Last week it was reported that the scene – in which a male member of the People's Front of Judea said he wanted to become a woman would be dropped. 

It was based on Cleese receiving feedback from actors at a run-through that the scene would be problematic.

However, the 83-year-old has now clarified that he was merely repeating the concerns… but would not be acting on them.

Writing on Twitter, he said: ‘A few days ago I spoke to an audience outside London. I told them I was adapting the Life of Brian so that we could do it as a stage show (NOT a musical ).

‘I said that we'd had a table-reading of the latest draft in NYC a year ago and that all the actors - several of them Tony winners - had advised me strongly to cut the Loretta scene.  I have, of course, no intention of doing so

‘So someone in the audience had called a journalist and misreported me. Amazingly none of the British media called to check.’

The report also claimed that he was cutting the crucifixion scene, but not the song Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.

Cleese did not address the  crucifixion report, but said that the song would remain ‘for a very good reason. We don't want to upset Eric [Idle] and it's his only contribution to the Life of Brian script.’

It was Idle – who has not seen Cleese for seven years – who suggested the song was being axed, tweeting: ‘I have nothing at all to do with this production or adaptation,.  Apparently Cleese has cut the song.  Of course.’

In the original report about the ‘Loretta’ scene, the Daily Mail saidCleese told his audience: ’So here you have something there's never been a complaint about in 40 years, that I've heard of, and now all of a sudden we can't do it because it'll offend people. 

‘What is one supposed to make of that? But I think there were a lot of things that were actually, in some strange way, predictive of what was actually going to happen later.’ 

Originally played for laughs, the scene involves the character of Stan – portrayed by Idle –  telling his fellow revolutionaries: ‘I want to become a woman. From now on I want you to call me Loretta.’

‘What?’ says Cleese’s incredulous character Reg.

‘It’s my right as a man,’ Stan says. adding: ‘I want to have babies…. It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them.’

‘You can't have babies,’ Reg says, to  which Stan responds: 'Don't you oppress me.'

‘I’m not oppressing you, Stan you haven’t got a womb. Where’s the foetus going to gestate? You gonna keep it in a box?’

Published: 25 May 2023